Intro Offer: Discover will match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year, automatically. There's no signing up. And no limit to how much is matched.

Earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants or Amazon.com up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.

Good Grades Rewards: $20 statement credit each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to the next 5 years.

No annual fee. No late fee on first late payment. No APR change for paying late.

Get 100% U.S. based customer service & get your free Credit Scorecard with your FICO® Credit Score, number of recent inquiries and more.

Discover it® Student Cash Back is one of the most popular student credit cards as it lets you earn 5% cash back on changing categories of purchases (up to the quarterly maximum) when you activate this 5% bonus. You will earn 1% cash back on all your other purchases. Unlike a debit card, Discover it® Student Cash Back will help you build a credit history while you are in college; if you make purchases with it and pay your bills on time, you would build a good credit score over time, which is essential when you apply for loans or get a job in the future. In this Discover it® Student Cash Back review, one of the best credit cards for students in the US, we'll tell you what we like and dislike about this card.

Things We Like About Discover it® Student Cash Back

No annual fee for you or for any additional cardholders. No reward redemption fee either.

Get rewarded for your good grades. Earn a $20 statement credit each year your GPA is 3.0 or higher. To earn this cash back, you must indicate your current enrollment in college on your credit card application. You can earn this $20 in statement credit every year for up to the next 5 years as long as you're enrolled in school.

Earn 5% cash back for purchases you make (up to the quarterly maximum of $1,500) in categories that change throughout the year, such as gas, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, and more. This is one of the best benefits of Discover it® Student Cash Back. Keep in mind that you must enroll (it's free and easy) for the 5% program each quarter! If you spend above the quarterly maximum ($1,500), the excess will automatically earn 1% cash back.

Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all eligible purchases every year. You will get 1% cash back for every purchase you make.

Cashback Match is an awesome benefit in which Discover will match all the cash back rewards you've earned at the end of your first year. This is done automatically and is only for new cardmembers.

Redeem your Cashback Bonus for merchandise, gift cards, e-certificates or cold hard cash. If you prefer cash, you can redeem for cash that will be credited to your account with your Cashback Bonus balance as an electronic deposit or statement credit, and you can redeem any amount at any time you like.

Rebates don't expire and there is no limit as to how much you can earn with them. Discover will credit your account with your Cashback Bonus balance if your account is closed for any reason or inactive for 18 consecutive months.

Freeze It® on/off switch. You can now freeze and unfreeze your account in seconds to prevent new purchases, cash advances and balance transfers. It only takes a few seconds and you can do it online or through Discover's mobile app.

Talk to a real U.S. based customer service representative when you call their hotline. This is probably the reason why Discover consistently ranks high for their customer service.

Free FICO® credit score online and on your monthly statements. Track your recent FICO® credit score for free in one chart on your monthly statements or online. This is a great way to stay on top of your credit.

Choose from different card designs. With many designs to choose from, there's probably one that fits your style.

Receive account alerts if unusual activity takes place in your account. You will be alerted by phone, text or email if unusual activity takes place. Your account is monitored every day and each time you make a purchase, and you won't be responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover card.

No foreign transaction fee. You won't have to pay any foreign transaction fee when using this card.

No late fee charges on your first late payment. After that, up to $37. Paying late won't increase your APR and there are no overlimit fees.

0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 6 months. After that, the standard variable purchase APR will be 14.99% - 23.99% variable APR, based on your creditworthiness.

Our Least Favorite Things About Discover it® Student Cash Back

No 0% intro APR for balance transfers. But there is still an intro offer: 10.99% intro APR for balance transfers for the first 6 months. After this introductory period to pay off balances transferred to this card, you'll have a 14.99% - 23.99% variable APR on balance transfers based on your creditworthiness.

Discover it® Student Cash Back is a good choice of credit card if you want to earn cash back rewards and track recent FICO® credit scores for free online and on monthly statements. As long as you pay in full every month on time, you won't incur any interest charges. This card has a promotion for new sign-ups: Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year and apply them to your account in the following one or two billing periods.

One of the best features this card has is the fact that if you are a good student, you can be rewarded with a $20 statement credit (up to the next 5 years) in which your GPA is 3.0 (or higher). You also get 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months (14.99% - 23.99% variable APR thereafter), so if you plan to buy something and then pay it off within the first 6 months, you can do so interest-free.

If you are financially responsible enough to pay off your balances in full each month, and would like to take advantage of your college years to start building your credit history, then you should apply for Discover it® Student Cash Back.

Editorial Disclosure: Any personal views and opinions expressed by the author in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of GET.com. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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How We Rate Credit Cards

At GET.com we compare credit cards and rate them objectively based on the credit card's features, interest rates and fees.

Cards are rated by our team based primarily on the basis of value for money to the cardholder. The GET.com team rates each card based on its annual fee, rewards, benefits, bonus, introductory APR, ongoing APR, flexibility (in how its benefits can be used and how rewards are earned and redeemed), and other card features.

Editorial Disclosure: Any personal views and opinions expressed by the author in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of GET.com. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the companies mentioned, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.